November 2006/2

RK Harrison Insurance Brokers Ltd, the independent London market brokers, will appoint the former Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group executive Dominic Collins to replace its retiring executive chairman, Richard Corfield.

Stephen Way has resigned from HCC Insurance Holdings, the company he founded in 1974, following a company investigation over its stock-option granting practices.

Oxygen Holdings plc, the London market intermediary backed by high profile figures such as ICAP founder Michael Spencer and former Marsh president Bob Clements, has continued the expansion of its broking operation with the acquisition of the business of S

German reinsurer Hannover Re reported a “gratifying” third quarter result in which the group posted net income of EUR123.5mn.

Bermudian (re)insurer Max Re Capital Ltd today (14 November) announced that acting chairman and CEO W Marston Becker has been permanently appointed to the position.

Aspen Insurance Holdings – the Bermudian domiciled (re)insurer which lost three of its four underwriting heads this summer – revealed plans to leverage its balance sheet last week with a $200mn hybrid offering and details of a share buy-back.

Bermudian (re)insurer Allied World Assurance Co (AWAC) bounced back from 2005’s third quarter loss of $283.4mn with a strong $114mn contribution.

OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last Thursday (9 November) at $26 a share. The initial public offering saw the US insurer raise around $600mn, with the majority of proceeds from the float flowing into Bermudian parent

American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurance company by value, was the latest firm to unveil strong third quarter results on the back of a benign 2006 claims environment.

Novae Syndicates Ltd, Novae Group plc’s Lloyd’s platform, maintained unchanged forecasts on its managed syndicates for 2004 and 2005 and the 2002 run-off years last week.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA), the UK regulatory body, has approved the sale of run-off (re)insurer Chevanstell to an investor group little more than two months after the deal was first announced.

German reinsurer Hannover Re has become the latest company to be granted a licence by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, enabling it to write life and health reinsurance in the People’s Republic of China.